In the 24 hours ending at 3pm yesterday, Cromwell received 35mm of rain, Roxburgh 31.8mm, Alexandra 28mm, Millers Flat 28.8mm and the Lindis Pass 33mm.
Alistair Campbell, of Earnscleugh Station, near Alexandra, said the 29mm of rain which fell on his property was probably the "first decent rainfall since the spring before last''.
Although it was usually dry at the station over summer, he believed this summer was the driest in his 35 years on the property.
"This rain will have brought smiles to quite a few people's faces,'' he said.
The moisture had taken the fire risk out of the "extreme danger'' category, Otago Rural Fire Authority deputy principal rural fire officer Pete Scarlet, of Alexandra, said.
"It's great news but it's too early to be lifting the fire ban yet. The last thing we want is more nor-west winds,'' he said.
It had probably been a month since the last significant rain so it was timely as conditions were extremely dry.
Nine trails in the Otago Goldfields Heritage Trust cavalcade were wending their way to Roxburgh for the end of the trek tomorrow but only one trail had camped outside during the torrential downpour on Wednesday night, cavalcade organiser Terry Davis said.
The riding trail was between Waikaia and Roxburgh that evening and was out of cellphone contact.
However, they had a satellite phone for emergencies and had not been in contact so "no news is good news'', he said.
"They've probably had a real adventure - the worse the weather, the bigger the adventure so they'll probably have some stories to tell later.''
It was also good news the fire risk had lessened, Mr Davis said.
Apple growers probably welcomed the downpour, Summerfruit New Zealand chairman Gary Bennetts, of Roxburgh, said.
The summerfruit season was "basically finished'' so the wet weather was unlikely to cause problems for summerfruit growers.
There was thunder and lightning during Wednesday night's thunderstorm, but thankfully no hail, he said. His property received 48mm of rain that evening, causing "a wee bit of flooding, but no drama''.
The Alexandra Volunteer Fire Brigade attended eight calls about flooding on Wednesday night, as home downpipes and street drains failed to cope with the deluge.
None of the homes received any serious damage, Chief Fire Officer Russell Anderson said.
